I am back in Tanzania for a few days to do a site visit at Mwendakulima Secondary School, where we will be donating a library in June, funded by Panafrican Mining Services.
This site visit is routine for all libraries we have donated. I’m here not only to finalize and oversee all renovations plans for the current library structure, but to spend time at the school working with the teachers and students, to teach them about the library program.
First order of business was to go into the town of Kahama with Bernard from Panafrican and our fundi, to source tiles for retiling the floor. We realized quickly that I was not an asset in this trip, as the moment the owner of a shop saw me (a foreigner), the would automatically quote the price much higher than it would normally be, and would not budge.
My priority was making sure that the materials chosen were of the best quality, and I left Bernard to handle the price negotiations. After we made our rounds through Kahama, the fundi took some final measurements of the current library space at Mwendakulima. Renovations will begin next week.
